


Der Sturz von Kriegern

by orphan_account



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternative Universe - Kingdom, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-14
Updated: 2018-01-01
Packaged: 2019-02-14 17:24:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,177
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13012596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: "The situation is getting direr, my king. We need to do something about it..."The kingdom of Krieger is under the rule of a young, inexperienced king. The people are poor, hungry, restless and wanting change. Nothing that the king does seems to make anything better, only worse. He will keep trying though, even if it kills him.





	1. The Beginning- Part 1

The sun shone on the kingdom of Krieger, blessing its people with warmth. In the castle that was built on top of a hill that overlooked the village down below there was a young king.

Ludwig, the young king, stood on the balcony that overlooked the castles training grounds. Down below his generals were hard at work, training some of the newer recruits. Alfred was sparring with some of the trainees while Ivan was instructing the men on how to properly hold and use a sword. Ludwig's eyes merely skimmed over all of them, uninterested in what they were doing. His eyes wandered over the grounds until they caught sight of his main general and his half-brother. Gilbert wasn't with the trainees, instead, he was training himself. He was hacking and slashing at one of the training dummies, trying to hone his skills despite being the best warrior in all of Krieger. Gilbert looked ferocious as he fought, like a true warrior. The way he fought made him look uncoordinated and inexperienced but to someone who knew proper fighting techniques, like Ludwig, it was everything but.

The albino stopped his violent sword swinging and wiped the sweat off of his brow. He dropped his sword and turned around, spotting Ludwig up on the balcony. The king smiled down at Gilbert and his half-brother waved at him before picking up his sword again and disappearing into the small armoury nearby. Ludwig stood there a moment longer and then turned away, leaving the balcony. He made his way through his castle until he reached the training grounds he had been looking down at before. When he reached the grounds the trainees were packing up and his three generals were all talking to one another. The blond walked over to the trio and as soon as Ivan and Alfred spotted their king they bowed quickly before walking away to help the trainees, leaving Gilbert and Ludwig alone.

"I see that you still insist on training even when it isn't necessary," Ludwig said, a small smile tugging at his lips. Gilbert smiled back and chuckled softly.

"I have to keep myself at my best, I don't want to lose my skills." He explained, the smile never leaving his lips. Ludwig's small smile widened a bit. Lately, he hasn't really been smiling but when Gilbert was around... well, the king couldn't really help himself. His half-brother always had managed to cheer him up. Even as kids.

"Shall we go for a walk, your majesty?" Gilbert asked in a fake posh tone while bowing slightly.

"Why yes, of course. Let us go my faithful servant." Ludwig answered back, faking the same posh tone and making them both laugh. Gilbert stood up straight and the two began to walk from the training grounds and back to the castle, chatting as they went.

Gilbert let out a booming laugh as they approached the main entrance to the castle and as soon as the main doors where opened a smaller man came running towards the pair, the small piece of hair that stuck out of his head bouncing as he ran.

"My king, my king!" The man cried as he ran. When the man stopped in front of them he bent over slightly, panting and trying to catch his breath.

"Roderich, what is it?" Ludwig asked, slightly concerned. His advisor never ran unless it was absolutely necessary. Gilbert and Ludwig stared at their cousin and waited for him to catch his breath. After a few moments, the man stood up straight and straightened up his jacket before he spoke.

"I need to speak with you." He said, answering Ludwig's previous question. Roderich's unnaturally purple eyes flickered over to where Gilbert stood and then moved back to the king. "Alone." He added, tone slightly more serious. Ludwig and Gilbert looked at one another and then the blond nodded slightly, signalling for Gilbert to leave. The general bowed to his king and gave the advisor a small nod before turning on his heel and walking back out of the castles main doors, going back the way he came.

Roderich watched the albino leave. As soon as the other could no longer be seen he looked back at Ludwig and then turned, gesturing to the king that they should talk while walking.

As soon as they started walking Roderich looked around to make sure nobody was in earshot before he spoke.

"Your majesty, th-" Roderich was cut off by Ludwig.

"You know, you don't have to call me that when we're alone, I much prefer that you call me by my name." The blond said, looking at his cousin from the corner of his eye. Roderich paused and looked down at the ground for a few moments before looking back up at his king.

"Very well. Ludwig, the situation is getting direr. The masses are getting restless. We need to do something." Roderich explained, a tone of urgency showing in his voice. Ludwig listened intently to the words his cousin spoke. "Maybe, if you married..." The advisor suggested, drawing out his sentence slightly.

Ludwig stopped in his tracks and look at Roderich with an unreadable look. "Married..." He repeated slowly.

"Yes, married. You've gotten several offers from families not only from Krieger but from other kingdoms as well. You've even gotten an offer from the emperor of Aetha. He has offered you his youngest daughter, Feliciana. If you marry her then an alliance would be formed. To have them as an ally..." Roderich stopped to take a breath and slow down his words a bit. "That would help us a lot."

Ludwig stood there silently, thinking. He didn't want to get married, especially to a woman he barely knew. Well, he didn't want to marry a woman full stop. But, he knew that this could help his kingdom. It was an especially dire time. After the death of his father, Krieger had fallen into a sort of chaos. Ludwig was still only nineteen and hadn't been trained properly in the ways of ruling. He barely knew what he was doing and everything he did seemingly made everything worse.

"I'll think about it.." The blond answered. Roderich stared at him for a moment and then sighed, knowing that Ludwig would still probably reject any offers he got. The advisor wasn't blind, he could see the way Ludwig looked at men.

"Very well, my king," Roderich said before quickly bowing and then scurrying away to go tend to more of his duties. Ludwig watched his advisor go, blue eyes following the man out of the room. The king then sighed and suddenly the weight of the crown on his head was became much more noticeable. The golden ornament on the blond's head seemed a lot heavier than usual. It was probably just Ludwig imagining it but still, he grabbed onto the crown and pulled it off his head. He stared at it while slowly turning it in his hand, eyes wandering over the ornate designs and encrusted gems and jewels on the golden crown.

An image popped up in Ludwig's head. He remembered how his father looked in this crown and when he was younger, how much he looked up to his father. The crown always seemed to make the elder look so powerful.

The image and memory faded away leaving Ludwig standing in a hallway all alone. The king sighed and then put the crown back on his head, the weight of ruling coming back along with the weight of the crown itself. This was going to be a long day.


	2. The Beginning- Part 2

As Ludwig was adjusting his crown one of the kitchen workers came running over to where the king stood.

"Your majesty!" She cried as she ran. "There's an argument going on in the kitchen!" The worker explained after she had stopped right in front of Ludwig.

"A argument?" He asked, repeating her words. "Why do you need my help?" He questioned, raising one eyebrow slightly in confusion.

"We... we tried to get them to stop but nothing worked. It's the head chef and his assistant. You're close with them, right? You should be able to stop them." The small woman looked hopefully up at her king. Was the fight really that bad? It wasn't unusual for Francis and Arthur to fight even though they were so close but it never usually was too bad and they got over it after being told off or after going on for too long.

Ludwig rubbed at the back of his neck and sighed. "Okay, I'll go." He murmured and the kitchen lady smiled before running off back to do her duties. Ludwig followed after her and made his was to the kitchen. When the king reached the kitchen where his many chefs should have been working he could hear the sound of two people shouting at one another. Ludwig immediately knew it was the two people he'd been sent here to deal with.

A small sigh escaped the king's lips and then he pushed open the wooden door to see his head chef arguing with his assistant. Francis was shouting something that Ludwig could barely understand while Arthur shouted back a jumble of obscenities.

"Stop it!" Ludwig shouted, silencing the two and making them both turn to their king who clearly disapproved of their fightin. "What are you two doing?! You should be working not shouting at one another!"

Francis' face that had just been full of rage now seemed sorrowful. "My king, I apologise." He said, looking down slightly. Francis hated to disappoint his best friend, it made him feel so guilty.

"Oh, so you'll apologise to him but not to me?!" Arthur yelled at the head chef. "You slept with my-"

Francis immediately stood up straight and turned to his friend, cutting off Arthur's accusations with his own. "I did not! You slept with my boyfriend!" He yelled back, a mixture of anger and sadness written on his face.

Ludwig looked between the two of them and sighed, annoyed at the pair and their pettiness. "You two are adults, you should be able to figure this out without shouting at each other, especially not when you're supposed to be working. You two will stop this right now and get back to work." He said, hoping that that would be the end of it

Francis and Arthur looked at each other for a moment then Arthur groaned and turned away from his best friend and the king, ignoring them both in favour of going to clean up the mess that the two had made while fighting. Ludwig and Francis looked at him and then at each other.

"I apologise once again, my king." Francis said with a small bow. "It won't happen again." He added on.

"It's alright. Just make sure it doesn't." Ludwig said sternly before turning around and leaving the kitchen, letting the two get back to their duties. As the king closed the wooden door behind himself he sighed, he seemed to be doing that a lot today. His eyes closed for a few moments but then opened again at the sound of feet pounding against the cobblestone as someone ran.

'Again?' Ludwig thought to himself as he saw yet another person running towards him, obviously needing him for something.

Before the person could even open their mouth Ludwig spoke. "Make it quick." He snapped, glaring slightly. The person, a small boy who was obviously a messenger of some sort, stopped and looked at the king with wide, slightly terrified, eyes.

"I-I.." The boy started, stuttering and unable to speak properly due to the fear of his angered and annoyed king. This only managed to make Ludwig more annoyed.

"Well, spit it out already." Ludwig snapped, glaring even more.

"Your brother wants you in the training grounds." The boy says quickly before running away, tears welling up. At the mention of his brother Ludwig's mood seemed to get a little better. Gilbert probably just wanted to talk more, that's all.

The blond hurriedly walked to the training grounds that he'd been in earlier and this time it was almost completely devoid of people, the person there being Gilbert, who was sat in the armoury, sharpening swords. Ludwig could barely see his half-brother in said armoury but he still knew it was him so he walked over to the small room full of weapons and then knocked on the open door to let Gilbert know he was there.

The albino looked up from what he was doing and smiled. "Your majesty." Gilbert said with a smile. "Fancy seeing you here."

Ludwig smiled back, walking into the room and closer to Gilbert. "It's not like you invited me here." The blond replied and then he placed his hand over Gilbert's much paler one, slowly taking the sword from his brother's grip and putting it back where it belonged. "Why don't you take a break? You can sharpen the swords later. You could even make the new recruits do it."

Gilbert's eyes looked down at Ludwig's hand on his own then back up to the king's face. "I think I should take a break." He agreed. "I think you should have one too, at least for a little while. It looks like talking to Roderich exhausted you." He added on as he intertwined their fingers and pulled Ludwig further into the small room so that they could both sit down.

The two sat down and then Ludwig rested his head on his half-brother's shoulder. "It wasn't just Roderich, I had to deal with Francis and Arthur too." Ludwig said, correcting Gilbert. "But yes, talking to our dear cousin was a little exhausting."

"Tell me all about it."

And so the two sat there talking about everything from people's petty fights to the meaning of it all until Ludwig was found and dragged back to the castle while getting scolded by Roderich for taking a break. This was seriously going to be a long day.


	3. The Calm

It had been around a week, and it had certainly not been a fun week. Everyday had gone the same. Ludwig would wake up, have some breakfast and then he would be called on to go attend to some duties. After doing that, if he even got a break that is, he'd have some lunch and go straight back to it. Being a king wasn't as easy as he thought it would be. He'd only been doing this for little over a year and he was ready to just give up, he couldn't understand how his father had done it for so long.

Ludwig sighed as he rubbed at the back of his neck, trying to get rid of some of the pain. Suddenly there was hands on his shoulders and they began to rub and massage the king's sore neck and shoulders.

There was a soft groan that escaped Ludwig's lips and he turned his head slightly to see his brother standing behind him. "Gilbert..." He murmured, words trailing off into silence. Gilbert's skilled hands worked deeper into his king's shoulders, intent on soothing Ludwig's pains.

"You have been working for a while, you should take a break." Gilbert suggested as he continued his massaging. The general had been watching Ludwig from the doorway for over an hour but Ludwig had been so distracted by his work that he didn't notice.

"No, I've got stuff I need to do. Roderich will have my head if I don't do it. He's been getting a lot stricter lately..." Ludwig said softly as he rolled his shoulders slightly. "I can understand though, this kingdom..." The sentence was cut off with a sigh.

A silence filled the room.

Gilbert stopped his rubbing and slid his hands down Ludwig's chest so that he could rest his head on his half-brother's shoulder.

"It will get better Ludwig. I know it will." The albino reassured quietly into the king's ear. Gilbert didn't fully believe that though. He could see how things were falling apart and he knew it wouldn't be long before something terrible happened but he was powerless to stop it. He was just a soldier, he had no authority over how the kingdom was run, he could only hope that Ludwig fixed it.

"But will it?" Ludwig questioned, turning his head slightly towards Gilbert. "And what if it doesn't?"

"Don't worry about that. If something happens I'll protect you." Their faces were rather close now; their noses were almost touching. Gilbert smirked slightly. "Protecting you is my job after all." He added, voice barely above a whisper.

The two were interrupted by Roderich bursting in without knocking. The loud noise of the door opening suddenly surprised the two making them both move back and away from each other.

"Was I interrupting something?" Roderich questioned as he looked between the two of them. A light pink blush had appeared on Ludwig's face and the king turned away from everyone in the room while trying to will away the heat on his cheeks.

Gilbert looked at his brother then to his cousin, shaking his head. "No, you weren't interrupting anything. In fact, I was just leaving." And with that the general left, the memory of what just happened replaying in his mind. Roderich simply ignored the other man and headed straight into the office of his king.

"Your majesty, I have some news."

This made Ludwig turn back to his advisor.

"What is it?"

*･゜ﾟ･*

The doors of the throne room were thrown open and a carpet was rolled out, going all the way from the doors to right in front of the throne where Ludwig sat. A lavishly dressed man stood at the beginning of the carpet and, after being announced, started walking into the room and towards the king.

"Your majesty!" The boisterous emperor called as he walked in. Behind him, his two of his children followed. As the man came to stand in front of the blond king his children stood beside him, one giving a small bow and one curtsying.

"Romulus." Ludwig said curtly, greeting the emperor. "What brings you to Krieger?" He asked, curious as to why such an important and busy man would take some of his precious time to come to this kingdom.

"Can I not just come and visit?" Romulus questioned with that cheeky smile of his. Ludwig stared at the man suspiciously, he never came to 'just visit'. When Ludwig had been growing up his father had warned him of Romulus and how the man always wanted something.

After the king started at the emperor for over five minutes the man cracked.

"Okay, okay. I came to offer you something." Romulus admitted. This made Ludwig raise a brow.

"What have you come to offer me?" He questioned, leaning forward in his throne a bit. Romulus' smiled widened and he gestured at his daughter beside him to step forward.

"This is my daughter, Feliciana." Ludwig recognised that name, the memory of what Roderich had told him a week ago popping back up in his mind. "I would like to offer you her hand in marriage." Romulus added. Feliciana stepped even closer to the throne and curtsied once more, showing her respect to the king.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, your majesty." She said, voice soft and sweet. The princess stood up straight, looking Ludwig directly in the eye. Ludwig stared back before moving his eyes back to the princess's father that stood behind her.

"I..." Before the king could finish his sentence Roderich, who had been standing behind the throne along with Gilbert, put his hand on Ludwig's shoulder, encouraging him to hopefully make the right decision.

But Ludwig just couldn't do it.

"I cannot accept your offer." The king said. Both the faces of Romulus and Feliciana fell at that.

"You... cannot accept?"

Ludwig shook his head. "No, I cannot. I'm sure that Feliciana is a nice woman and would make a lovely wife but not to me."

A flash of rage flickered across Romulus' face but was quickly masked with a cool, calm facade. With a soft 'very well' the emperor gave a bow and turned, walking out and leaving the throne room with his children in tow once more. After they had left Roderich stormed out of the room and Gilbert quickly followed, concerned that his cousin might hurt himself or do something stupid in his in raged state.

Ludwig groaned and let his head fall into his hands. He just couldn't do anything right...

*･゜ﾟ･*

There was a loud noise as Roderich slammed his hands down on his desk.

"He is so incompetent!" The advisor shouted, fury written all over his face. "We will all continue to suffer under his rule!" He continued. Roderich gritted his teeth and then grabbed the closet thing to him, which was a stack of important papers he'd just finished working on, and threw it across the room.

Gilbert, who had followed after his cousin, walked into the advisors office and closed the door behind him, locking it as well. He looked up just in time to see the stack of papers flying at him and ducked quickly, just barely avoiding getting hit. The papers hit the door behind Gilbert and then fell to the floor, making a mess that Roderich would have to clean up later.

The general looked at the mess then at Roderich. "You need to calm down." He said in a soft voice, hoping to reason with the other.

"Calm down?!" Roderich repeated. "Do not tell me to calm down when that incompetent little brother of yours is ruining the kingdom your father worked so hard to repair!"

"He's young!" Gilbert tried to reason, voice raising slightly. He didn't like the way Roderich was talking about Ludwig and if the two of them weren't related then Gilbert probably would've punched Roderich by now.

"He's an idiot!" Roderich shouted back. "'I cannot accept', what bullshit! He knows what that alliance could do to help our kingdom but no, he rejects it because of his own selfish needs! He is unfit to be king!" After his shouting fest, the advisor sat down in his chair, head falling into his hands. "If uncle Aldrich could see Ludwig now, he'd be so disappointed..."

Gilbert gave up trying be rational and the mention of his father set him off. He stomped over to the desk that Roderich was sat at and grabbed the other by the collar of his shirt.

"Don't you dare speak about Ludwig or my father like that. Ludwig is learning, he was never taught to be a king unlike father, he has to learn for himself!" Gilbert spat, angry face centimetres away from his cousins. For a moment Roderich was scared but he quickly got over that and spat back at the albino.

"His learning is destroying the kingdom that your father worked so hard to rebuild. Do you know how devastated Krieger was after the war? Do you? It was in an even worse state than it is now! And all that hard work is going to waste because of Ludwig's stupid decisions!"

Gilbert snarled, baring his teeth. "You shut your trap or I'm going to shut it for you. You seem to forget who I am and what I can do." The threat that left the general's wasn't empty, he wasn't afraid to hurt his cousin if he didn't shut up.

But still, Roderich fought back.

"I know who you are, you're a bastard child who's good for nothing except protecting your weak brother- no, half-brother. You will never be important to the king, you are nothing but protection because he can't protect himself!"

The advisor was dropped back into his chair and then Gilbert's hand curled up in a fist and then was swung, hitting Roderich in the face. A cry of pain came from the man and he turned away from Gilbert, hand cupping where he had just been hit. The taste of blood filled his mouth and he was sure that one of his teeth had chipped.

"Leave!" Roderich shouted, free hand pointing at the door. Gilbert stood there for a moment, staring, before turning and leaving the room, slamming the door shut behind himself. Roderich waited before he was sure that Gilbert was gone before he let tears fall from his eyes.

"Fucking Beilschmidts..."


	4. Before

The castle was unusually quiet.

Today seemed to be a lazy day of sorts. Ludwig had finished all of his paperwork for today, which there hadn’t been much of, but he knew there’d be more tomorrow. So, he decided to take advantage of the opportunity and had wandered off to a quiet place where he was sure no one could find him. It was a small room that was hidden in the back of the royal library. The blond was positive that only him and Gilbert knew of the place. 

Quietly, he opened the door and went inside to find it was exactly how he and his half-brother had left it. There were a couple of books scattered around along with two chairs that the brothers had managed to get into the room several years ago. The only light source in the room was a candle that sat on a small table The was in between the two chairs. But sometimes, when the brothers had hidden themselves away in here, they would just snuff out the candle and sit in the darkness together, talking. 

Those where some of Ludwig’s fondest memories. But, it was likely that those moments would never happen again...

The blond sighed and moved over to the candle to quickly light it then he closed the door that’d he’d used to come in. Ludwig sat down in his chair, sneezing softly when dust from the chair went into the air as he sat. He couldn’t remember how long it had been since he’d last been in here. Actually, no, he did remember. The last time he was in here was the day before his coronation. Gilbert had dragged him off into the room and they’d had one more chat in the dark. Ludwig had revealed to his half-brother that he was absolutely terrified about becoming king and that he didn’t want it. The albino had just soothed his brother and told him that he’d be a great king.

“You were wrong...” Ludwig quietly whispered to himself. There was another sigh and the blond removed the crown off of his head and placed it on the small table that had the candle on it, feeling as if the weight of ruling the kingdom was lifted if his shoulders. He then leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes, thinking to himself. 

Though, all that he could think about was Gilbert and the moments they’d had in this room. His mind then wandered off to other memories from before he’d become king, from before his father had died. 

He wished he could go back to those times...

*･゜ﾟ･*

The small, seven year old Ludwig sat in his father's office, watching the elder work.

“Papa, why can’t I play with Bubba as much any more?” He asked curiously, cocking his head to the side slightly. Recently, his father had told him that he wasn’t allowed to hang around his brother as much anymore but he’d never been told why. 

Aldrich didn’t look up or answer his son, he was too focused on his current task. But Ludwig persisted.

“Papa.” He repeated, voice a little more forceful. This made Aldrich look up.

“Oh, sorry. I didn’t hear you. What is it, little one?” The elder asked, a small, rare smile on his face as he looked at the pride and joy that he called his son. Ludwig got up from his chair and walked over to his father, getting up and sitting on the man’s lap. The small boy looked up and Aldrich and repeated his question.

“Why can’t I play with Bubba any more?”

Aldrich sighed and hugged his son. 

“Gilbert has to train, alright?” He answered, hoping that that would be the last of it but he also knew it probably wouldn’t be. Ludwig was a curious child. 

“Bubba has to train? For what?” Ludwig paused for a second. “Wait, is he going to fight a dragon?” He asked excitedly. Aldrich just laughed softly at that.

“No, no, he’s not going to fight a dragon. He’s far too young for that. He’s training to become a soldier.” He answered as he ran his hand through Ludwig’s hair affectionately. The boy seemed to be slightly confused by this answer. 

“A soldier? Why? Isn’t Bubba going to be king?”

That’s exactly the question Aldrich hoped that Ludwig wouldn’t ask. His son didn’t know about the fact that Gilbert was a bastard and could never inherit the throne, Aldrich hadn’t planned on telling him for a while yet either. The elder stayed quiet for a few minutes, trying to figure out how to answer it. Eventually, he gave up and sighed.

“Do not worry about that, little one. Now, why don’t you go to the kitchen and get a snack?”

*･゜ﾟ･*

Ludwig, now an eleven year old, was stood on a stool as he tried to reach one of the many treat jars that were stored up on a high shelf in the kitchen. Even with the height advantage the stool gave him he still couldn’t reach the jar. But that didn’t mean he would give up.

He was so focused on trying to get to the treats that he didn’t hear the footsteps of someone as they walked up behind him. In fact, he didn’t even notice that said person stood behind him for several minutes, watching his attempts, before finally speaking up. 

“You shouldn’t be doing that.” The person said. Ludwig was frightened by the sudden voice and quickly turned around to see that it was just his close friend, Francis. 

“Oh, Francis, it’s just you.” He said, relieved that it wasn’t Francis' father or one of the kitchen staff. “You scared me.” Ludwig stepped down from the stool and walked over to the other. 

“I could go tell my father right now, you know.” The prince's eyes widened at that. 

“You wouldn’t...” Francis just looked at Ludwig with a serious look on his face that Ludwig hadn’t ever seen on his friend. After a minute or to Francis could t keep it up and burst out laughing which, in turn, made Ludwig laugh as well. The two laughed for a short while before calming down.

Francis wiped a tear from his eye and looked at Ludwig. 

“Come on, let me help you get that.”

*･゜ﾟ･*

The fifteen year old prince wandered around the training grounds in search of his brother. A servant had said they’d seen the albino boy out here but Ludwig just couldn’t seem to find him. 

Suddenly, it became dark as a hard was placed over Ludwig’s eyes. At first, the blond struggled but then he heard that voice. 

“Guess who~” 

Ludwig could recognise that voice anywhere.

“Gilbert! You scared me!” The prince said, trying to sound angry at Gilbert but his brother knew that Ludwig could never be mad at him. 

“Aw, I upset the little prince. I am oh so sorry.” Gilbert said in a clearly fake apologetic tone as he removed his hand from over Ludwig’s eyes. The prince blinked as the light came back then he turned around to look at his half-brother. 

“Don’t be mean.” The blond responded with a small pout. That just made Gilbert laugh. 

“Don’t get all prissy.” There was grin on his face as he reached out and ruffled up Ludwig’s hair. “Anyway, why are you out here? Did you want something?” Gilbert asked.

Ludwig huffed and fixed up his hair before answering with a small nod. 

“I wanted... to talk to you.” He admitted slowly. 

“Alright. Let’s go to our secret room then.” Gilbert said, beginning to walk away and to their room hidden away in the library. 

Ludwig smiled as he watched his brother walk away for a moment then proceeded to run after him. 

*･゜ﾟ･*

The blond was eighteen now. The news that had ruined his life had just come and he didn’t know how to respond. 

“Sir, are you alright?” Asked the messenger who had just delivered the news. Ludwig didn’t answer, he just sat there. It was like he was numb. The messenger just looked at the prince and decided that it was best that he leave. So, he turned on his heel and left, leaving Ludwig all by himself. 

“I can’t believe it, he's d-“

Suddenly Ludwig was pulled back to the present, the memory fading away into nothingness. The blond blinked a few times and looked around, trying to remember where he was. 

There was a shout from outside the room he had holed himself up in and then a crash. It sounded like something bad was going down in the library.

Ludwig stood, picked up his crown and put it back on before moving towards the door, opening it and making his way into the library. In the centre of said liberty the king found a rather strange sight. 

There stood Arthur, clearly in raged. His hands had a green glow around them, showing that he was getting ready to use his magic. Across from Arthur was Francis who looked like he’d been shoved into the bookcase. Books had fallen down and were now scattered around the dazed man. 

It was clear what was happening.

Arthur raised his hand up, the glow intensifying. Ludwig sprung into action, running towards the mage in an attempt to stop him from potential seriously injuring their friend. The king shouted at Arthur as he ran and as the other got distracted by the shouting, turning to look at where it had come from, Ludwig tackled the mage to the ground. 

Both men groaned in pain as the hit the ground but Ludwig quickly came to his senses. He stood up and looked down at the man still on the floor who was clutching his stomach in pain, he’d gotten most of the brunt from the fall. 

“What do you think you’re doing? Are you trying to kill Francis? You two are friends, you shouldn’t be trying to kill him!” Ludwig shouted at Arthur who was now slowly getting up. The mage didn’t look at his king, instead choosing to look at the ground. He also didn’t answer his king either and after several minutes of silence Ludwig gave up, groaning and throwing his hands up in defeat.

“Fine, if you’re going to act like this... Guards!” Ludwig called for the guards that were close by and not even a minute later four men came into the library, ready to carry out the king’s orders. “Arrest this man!” The blond said, pointing at Arthur. “If He is so intent on attacking my staff and close friend without an explanation he will spend his time in the cells until he gives me his explanation.”

With that, two of the guards moved over to Arthur and grabbed him, dragging him away to lock him up. 

“And you two,” Ludwig continued, pointing at the last remaining guards. “Take Francis to the infirmary and make sure the nurse makes sure he’s alright.” The last two guards nodded and moved to fulfil Ludwig’s command. Once they’d left the library Ludwig sighed, looking around at the mess that Arthur had caused. 

“Why me...” Ludwig muttered to himself as he left the library and headed to his room. 

*･゜ﾟ･*

Down in the village below the castle was Ivan. He’d come back to his home to give his sisters money for the essentials. 

As he stood in front of the house he’d lived in for years memories flashed in his mind of all the hardships him and his sisters had faced to even just get a roof over their head. Mentally, he cursed his parents for abandoning them and then shoved the thoughts to the back of his mind. 

Ivan raised his hand up and knocked on the wooden door of his house and from inside he could hear two people running to the door to greet him. The door swung open quickly and before he could react he was tackled to the ground by his siblings. 

“Ivan!” “Big brother!” The two voices said at once as they hugged their brother. Ivan smiled softly and wrapped his arms around his sisters as best he could in that position. 

After a few minutes of hugging the two sisters got up then helped Ivan up. The taller man looked down at both Katyusha and Natalya, smile still on his face. 

“Hello. How have you two been?” He asked as he guided the two back into their home. Each of the girls told Ivan how they’d been since he last visited and what they’d done. Ivan listen intently, he loved listening to his sisters talk. Eventually, Katyusha and Natalya sat him down at the dining table and Katyusha rushed off to the kitchen saying she had some food for him. 

Natalya sat down in the seat next to Ivan's then moved said seat slightly closer to her brother’s. 

“I missed you, Ivan.” She said softly, looking up at him. Ivan reached out and gently cupped her cheek. 

“I missed you too.” He whispered back then leaning in to leave a quick kiss on her lips. Right as they parted Katyusha came back with a roast, placing on the table in front of her brother. Ivan looked up at his elder sister then at the roast. 

“Yekaterina... I don't think-" Ivan's protest was cut off. 

"No buts. You're too skinny! They aren't feeding you enough up there. Now, eat!" Katyusha insisted, handing her brother the utensils he'd need to eat the meat. The man just sighed. 

"You're so protective. You don't need to be. I'm fine." Katyusha narrowed her eyes and then grabbed a hold of Ivan's chin, making him look up at her. Natalya laughed almost inaudibly to herself as she watched her elder brother get scorned. 

"Vanya, you will eat the food I prepared for you. Do you understand?" The was Katyusha said it made sure that Ivan knew he had no choice in the matter. 

"Okay..." He begrudgingly agreed. At that the eldest's mood changed back to her normal, cheerful one. She let go of Ivan's face and then leant in, giving him a quick kiss like he'd done to Natalya earlier. She then pulled away and spoke again. 

"Now, come, eat up."

*･゜ﾟ･*

The king entered his room and went to slam the door shut but stopped when he realised there was someone in his room. 

“Oh, Elizabeta...”

The maid turned around when she heard Ludwig’s voice. 

“Oh, your majesty. Hello.” She said, cheerful as ever. “How are you doing?” Elizabeta asked with a smile as she put down the cloth she’d been using to clean Ludwig’s room. 

The blond sighed. 

“Terribly.” He answered truthfully as he moved over to a chair and slumped down into it. “I just had to stop Arthur from killing Francis.” 

“Oh no! What has gotten into those two lately? Didn’t they used to be good friends?” She asked as she also moved to sit in a chair, the one right next to Ludwig’s.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought too. But, it seems they’ve gotten themselves caught up in some love triangle.” He answered, turning his head to look at Elizabeta. “I wish I knew who this third person was.” He added on. The maid sighed and reached over, rubbing the king’s shoulder comfortingly. 

“And Arthur tried to kill Francis over this? Does he really love this other person that much?” Elizabeta asked, more to herself than to Ludwig but Ludwig answered anyway. 

“It seems that way...” There was a few minutes of silence after those words as Elizabeta thought of something to say. 

“Those two need to work this out like adults.” She said, breaking the silence.

“That’s what I said but that obviously didn’t work out.” Ludwig sighed and then buried his face into his hands. “I hate this... I hate being king.” He admitted, voice slightly muffled by his hands. 

“I can tell, sweetheart.” Elizabeta responded, adding a small laugh at the end in an attempt to lighten the mood but it didn’t work at all. The blond said nothing but he did sigh again. The maid hated seeing anyone like this, especially someone she considered family. 

“Look, Ludwig, I know you hate this but you have to do it. Things will get better though, you just need to power through it all. You should also consider taking Roddy's advice into consideration, he only wants to help. You and I both know that.” 

Ludwig looked up from his hands and at the woman next to him. 

“I know he means well but... Roderich’s advice is always 'get married'. I don’t want to get married! I-“ The king was cut off by Elizabeta placing her finger over his lips. 

“Shhh. I know you don’t wish to marry but we all have to do things we don’t want. I mean, Roderich gave up his dream to come here and work for you. I gave up my friends and most of my family to come here with him. It’s just life.” Slowly, she lowered her finger and placed it back in her lap. “Got it.”

Ludwig looked away for a moment before looking back. 

“I don’t like women.” He said. “Romantically.” He quickly added on so he didn’t look like an asshole. 

“Oh, I know. It’s kinda obvious.” Elizabeta responded, grinning slightly. The blond blushed and turned away, covering his face with his hand. 

“Is it really that obvious?” He asked, refusing to look back at the woman. She just made an affirmative humming noise. “Oh god...”

“Look, Ludwig, your preference shouldn’t be getting in the way if you being a king. Yes, you have to marry a woman but who said you have to stay with only her? There’s no law saying you can’t have a lover on the side.” Elizabeta tried to reason and it seemed to make sense to Ludwig, seeing as the man now had a look on his face as if he was reconsidering everything. 

“I guess... you’re right.” He said without looking at her. 

“I know I am.”

“I think.... I’m going to accept Romulus' offer.”

“That’s the spirit!” Elizabeta said slightly too enthusiastically. Ludwig looked at her, slightly concerned with her levels of enthusiasm but he just brushed it off. 

“Okay, it’s decided,” The king announced as he stood. “I’ll go write a letter to Romulus right now, accepting his offer.” And with that Ludwig left the room to go to his office. 

Elizabeta watched as the king left, smile on her face. 

“Ooo, I can’t wait for the wedding!”


End file.
